Self-Cultivation and Moral Choice

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-158
Author(s):  
Julia Maskivker
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
David Hume ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Life Goals ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Moral Choice ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
The Face ◽  
Human Capacity ◽  
The Individual

Philosophical luminaries including Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, David Hume, and John Stuart Mill have all theorized that our human capacity of reason calls us to become the best that we can be by developing our “natural abilities.” This article explores the thesis that the development of our talents is not a moral duty to oneself and suggests that it may be avoided for other reasons than failures of rationality. In the face of the opportunity-costs associated with different life-goals, resistance to developing our powers may spring from an informed and perfectly rational choice in favor of an equally valuable alternative to talent development as a way of life. Thus, the arguments in this essay suggest that the predominant, rationalistic view in defense of a duty to develop one’s talents ignores a distinctively human capacity, namely, the capacity for reasoned moral choice. The paper argues, however, that we do well in viewing the development of one’s talents as worthwhile. In other words, it is correct to sustain that the individual would be acting in a morally deficient manner if she declined to develop her abilities for the wrong reasons even if no duty to self to avoid that course of action exists.

David Hume Is Pontiff of the World: Thomas Carlyle on Epicureanism, Laissez-Faire, and Public Opinion

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
David Hume ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Thomas Carlyle ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The World ◽  
Laissez Faire ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThomas Carlyle (1795–1881) is well known as one of the earliest and most vociferous critics of Benthamite utilitarianism. However, Carlyle understood Benthamism as the culmination of a much longer eighteenth-century tradition of Epicurean thought. Having been an enthusiastic reader of David Hume during his youth, Carlyle later turned against him, waging an increasingly violent polemic against all forms of Epicureanism. In these later works, Carlyle not only rejected the pursuit of “pleasure” as an appropriate end for the life of the individual, but also took umbrage with Epicurean accounts of sociability as the philosophical underpinnings of laissez-faire, representative democracy, and “public opinion.” For Carlyle, self-interest, no matter how “enlightened,” balanced, or channeled by institutions, could never provide a stable foundation for a political community. Carlyle's contemporaries were aware that his work was intended as an attack on the Epicurean tradition. When John Stuart Mill attempted to defend Epicureanism against Carlyle, several of the latter's disciples and sympathizers responded by extending Carlyle's earlier censures on Epicureanism.

scholarly journals Empatia jako podstawa moralności. Rewizja teorii moralności Davida Hume’a i Artura Schopenhauera w perspektywie wyników badań neurobiologii prymatologii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kot
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
David Hume ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Artur Schopenhauer

W filozofii od dawna trwa spór dotyczący podstaw moralności. Myśliciele tacy jak Arystoteles, Immanuel Kant, czy John Stuart Mill podstawową funkcję w podejmowaniu decyzji moralnych przypisują rozumowaniu. Z kolei David Hume oraz Artur Schopenhauer podkreślają pierwszoplanowe znaczenie emocji. Celem niniejszego tekstu jest rewizja sentymentalistycznej teorii moralności Hume’a i Schopenhauer’a w perspektywie 1) doniesień z badań analizujących pracę mózgu ludzkiego podczas podejmowania decyzji moralnych (Joshua Green) 2) roli neuronów lustrzanych (Giacomo Rizzolatti) 3) obserwacji zachowań empatycznych naczelnych (Francis de Waal). Badania te wnoszą w obszar etyki nową perspektywę, pozwalającą spojrzeć na problem dotyczący powstania i rozwoju moralności w zupełnie innym świetle

scholarly journals Apriorism as the Basis of Spirituality in the Philosophical Heritage of Europe and Russia: An Ethical Aspect

2021 ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
С.В. Ковалева
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Ethical Aspect ◽  
Moral Law ◽  
Moral Choice ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Moral Position ◽  
The Individual

Статья призвана определить значение нравственного компонента априорности в философском наследии И. Канта, В. С. Соловьева и М. Шелера и выявить потенциал соответствующих концепций в аспекте совершения нравственного выбора. Исследование основано на трудах перечисленных мыслителей и результатах научных изысканий современных философов. Для каждой из рассмотренных концепций установлено значение чистых априорных категорий и чувственного опыта в нравственном выборе. Эволюция осмысления априорных форм в европейском и отечественном философском наследии заключалась в движении от кантовского формализма к пониманию априорности как целостной установки, определяющей предпочтение человеком одних ценностей другим. Подчеркнута актуальность проанализированных произведений философского наследия для современной моральной практики. Моральный выбор должен осуществляться личностью, нравственно-априорные основания которой актуализируются посредством чувственно-эмоционального переживания этических ценностей. The article aims to establish the meaning of the moral component of apriorism in the philosophical heritage of Immanuel Kant, Vladimir Solovyov, and Мax Scheler, and to determine the possibility of using appropriate conceptions when choosing the moral position of a person in modern culture. The research material was writings by the mentioned thinkers and research analysing their heritage by modern scholars. The methodology is based on the principles of philosophical comparative studies and an axiological approach, which allowed comparing the values and ideas inherent in the conceptions of the three philosophers. The author examines Kant’s heritage in the aspect of the analysis of ideas related to a priori forms and pays special attention to Kant’s theses related to the practical activities of a person as basic apriorism and the importance of moral law in this activity. The author next turns to the philosophical heritage of Solovyov and identifies his views on the elements of an ethical nature that make up the ontological basis of the philosopher’s personality. She further analyses works by Scheler, which allowed comparing his view with Kant’s ethical ideas by the criterion of revealing a person’s attitude to the surrounding world. The value of pure a priori categories and sensory experience in moral choice is established for each of the considered conceptions. The author concludes that the comprehension of the meaning of a priori forms in the European and domestic philosophical heritage during almost three centuries demonstrates a sufficiently clear evolution based on Kant’s formal law of duty, which later received a critical assessment in the works of Russian and foreign thinkers. The main content of this evolution was a departure from Kant’s formalism towards understanding apriorism as a holistic attitude, which determines a person’s preference for some values to others and thus contributes to the formation of a hierarchy of personal values. The three thinkers emphasised the importance of apriorism and a priori forms as fundamental foundations of human morality; however, the philosophical meaning and specific characteristics of the forms changed noticeably throughout the three centuries. Based on her research, the author emphasises the relevance of the examined works for modern moral practice. The individual must be not only a subject of cognitive activity but also a person, whose moral and a priori foundations are actualised through the sensual and emotional experience of ethical values.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliot Michaelson ◽  
Andreas Stokke
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Thomas Reid ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Offers

This introductory chapter first offers a sketch of the history of philosophical thinking about lying and insincerity. It traces some of the themes in this literature in the works of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, early modern casuists, David Hume, Thomas Reid, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill, through to twentieth-century philosophy. The chapter highlights some of the issues discussed in the contemporary literature, as represented in this collection of essays. It then presents an overview of the essays included in this volume. Some comments on the connections between them are offered, as well as on their relation to the historical debate.

Utilitarianism and International Ethics

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Elfstrom
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
David Hume ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Individual State ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Ethical Theories ◽  
International Ethics ◽  
The Individual

Utilitarianism is inextricably linked to international ethics. The roots of the principle of utility can be traced to the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was employed by thinkers such as David Hume. However, Jeremy Bentham first formulated utilitarianism in detail and carefully studied its implications. According to Bentham, happiness is a condition in which an individual enjoys more pleasure than pain. Because utilitarianism is focused on the welfare of the individual, state boundaries are of little consequence. Its reach is inherently global. There are different varieties of utilitarianism. What sets them apart from other ethical theories is their stipulation that whatever is of value should be maximized for all and whatever of disvalue should be minimized for all. For Bentham, pleasure is the ultimate value. Later, John Stuart Mill distinguished between higher and lower pleasures and argued that higher pleasures should be given greater weight. In the 20th century, authors such as R. M. Hare determined that maximal satisfaction of preferences is the value to be sought. The utilitarian emphasis on maximization of value and its choice of values have generated much criticism from those who espoused human rights theories, such as John Rawls and those influenced by his work. At present, the scholarly literature dealing with issues related to international ethics mostly comes from those who are committed to human rights theory or who are committed to equality of outcomes for human beings.

A Gold Medal for Delinquency

1963 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-157
Author(s):  
Carl Leiden
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Gold Medal ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Communist Society ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Democratic Community ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Individual

If delinquency can be thought of as, in part, the violent and unreasoning rejection of authority, then to some degree it is present in every society, democratic or dictatorial. Paradoxically, it may serve some purpose in democratic constitutional develop ment, although it could hardly be encouraged for this purpose. The failure to eradicate delinquency is more significant in a dictatorship than in a democracy. In the democratic community rejection is fragmental and carries few ideological implications. But to the degree that a dictatorial society is totalitarian, the rejection is one of society, of an ideological way of life. Soviet delinquents reject not only the transient authority that bothers them, but the very ideological taproots of communism as well. The authoritarian state possesses instruments of coercion that are hardly acceptable to a democracy. But in spite of the use of such instruments and, in the case of the Soviet Union, in the face of a generation of trial at remolding man to a Marxian image, the delinquent remains the unassimilated antisocial ele ment. The very existence of delinquency there is a measure of the failure of communist society to substitute its will for that of the individual and, in spite of its tragic details, remains a bulwark against totalitarianism.

RACIAL STEREOTYPING OF HOMO SAPIENS AFRICANUS: A REVIEW OF ITS MYTH AND IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENTAL CAPACITY

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth Oppong
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
White People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Initial Errors ◽  
Developmental Capacity ◽  
Lower Intelligence

Generally, negatives stereotypes have been shown to have negative impact on performance members of a social group that is the target of the stereotype (Schmader, Johns and Forbes 2008; Steele and Aronson, 1995). It is against the background of this evidence that this paper argues that the negative stereotypes of perceived lower intelligence held against Africans has similar impact on the general development of the continent. This paper seeks to challenge this stereotype by tracing the source of this negative stereotype to David Hume and Immanuel Kant and showing the initial errors they committed which have influenced social science knowledge about race relations. Hume and Kant argue that Africans are naturally inferior to white or are less intelligent and support their thesis with their contrived evidence that there has never been any civilized nation other than those developed by white people nor any African scholars of eminence. Drawing on Anton Wilhelm Amo’s negligence-ignorance thesis, this paper shows the Hume-Kantian argument and the supporting evidence to be fallacious. 

Married Life in the Middle Ages, 900-1300

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth van Houts
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Married Couple ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Emotional Life ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Married Life ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

This book contains an analysis of the experience of married life by men and women in Christian medieval Europe c. 900–1300. The focus will be on the social and emotional life of the married couple rather than on the institutional history of marriage. The book consists of three parts: the first part (Getting Married) is devoted to the process of getting married and wedding celebrations, the second part (Married Life) discusses the married life of lay couples and clergy, their sexuality, and any remarriage, while the third part (Alternative Living) explores concubinage and polygyny as well as the single life in contrast to monogamous sexual unions. Four main themes are central to the book. First, the tension between patriarchal family strategies and the individual family member’s freedom of choice to marry and, if so, to what partner; second, the role played by the married priesthood in their quest to have individual agency and self-determination accepted in their own lives in the face of the growing imposition of clerical celibacy; third, the role played by women in helping society accept some degree of gender equality and self-determination to marry and in shaping the norms for married life incorporating these principles; fourth, the role played by emotion in the establishment of marriage and in married life at a time when sexual and spiritual love feature prominently in medieval literature.

Dilemmas of nudging in public health: an ethical analysis of a Danish pamphlet

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Busch ◽  
Emilie Kirstine Madsen ◽  
Antoinette Mary Fage-Butler ◽  
Marianne Kjær ◽  
Loni Ledderer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Screening Programme ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Ethical Analysis ◽  
Choice Making ◽  
The Face ◽  
Information Materials ◽  
The Individual ◽  
To Receive

Summary Nudging has been discussed in the context of public health, and ethical issues raised by nudging in public health contexts have been highlighted. In this article, we first identify types of nudging approaches and techniques that have been used in screening programmes, and ethical issues that have been associated with nudging: paternalism, limited autonomy and manipulation. We then identify nudging techniques used in a pamphlet developed for the Danish National Screening Program for Colorectal Cancer. These include framing, default nudge, use of hassle bias, authority nudge and priming. The pamphlet and the very offering of a screening programme can in themselves be considered nudges. Whether nudging strategies are ethically problematic depend on whether they are categorized as educative- or non-educative nudges. Educative nudges seek to affect people’s choice making by engaging their reflective capabilities. Non-educative nudges work by circumventing people’s reflective capabilities. Information materials are, on the face of it, meant to engage citizens’ reflective capacities. Recipients are likely to receive information materials with this expectation, and thus not expect to be affected in other ways. Non-educative nudges may therefore be particularly problematic in the context of information on screening, also as participating in screening does not always benefit the individual.

scholarly journals Healthy ageing, resilience and wellbeing

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 579-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Cosco ◽  
K. Howse ◽  
C. Brayne
Keyword(s):  
Population Level ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Environmental Resources ◽  
Great Achievement ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
Ageing Model ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

The extension of life does not appear to be slowing, representing a great achievement for mankind as well as a challenge for ageing populations. As we move towards an increasingly older population we will need to find novel ways for individuals to make the best of the challenges they face, as the likelihood of encountering some form of adversity increases with age. Resilience theories share a common idea that individuals who manage to navigate adversity and maintain high levels of functioning demonstrate resilience. Traditional models of healthy ageing suggest that having a high level of functioning across a number of domains is a requirement. The addition of adversity to the healthy ageing model via resilience makes this concept much more accessible and more amenable to the ageing population. Through asset-based approaches, such as the invoking of individual, social and environmental resources, it is hoped that greater resilience can be fostered at a population level. Interventions aimed at fostering greater resilience may take many forms; however, there is great potential to increase social and environmental resources through public policy interventions. The wellbeing of the individual must be the focus of these efforts; quality of life is an integral component to the enjoyment of additional years and should not be overlooked. Therefore, it will become increasingly important to use resilience as a public health concept and to intervene through policy to foster greater resilience by increasing resources available to older people. Fostering wellbeing in the face of increasing adversity has significant implications for ageing individuals and society as a whole.

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